1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a radio communication terminal and particularly relates to a radio communication terminal that is used in medical institutions.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, flat panel detectors (FPD) that comprise a radiation sensitive layer disposed on a thin-film transistor (TFT) active matrix substrate and can directly convert radiation into digital data have been put to practical use. Portable radiographic image capturing devices (called “electronic cassettes” below) that use a FPD or the like to generate image information (data) representing a radiographic image expressed by radiation with which the flat panel detector has been irradiated and store the generated image data have been put to practical use.
Electronic cassettes are portable, so they can also capture images of patients lying on a stretcher or a bed as they are, and electronic cassettes can flexibly accommodate patients who cannot move, because the place where an image is to be captured can be adjusted by changing the position of the electronic cassette.
Incidentally, radiographic image capturing systems where communication between the electronic cassette and a control device for control (a so-called console) is performed by radio communication are known. In a system where radio communication is performed between devices in this manner, there may be interference with respect to medical devices such as a cardiac pacemaker resulting from radio electromagnetic waves.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication (JP-A) No. 2005-176973 discloses a technology that sets the transmission output and/or the transmission rate of radio communication low when a metal has been detected as a result of analyzing a radiographic image that has been obtained by image capturing.
Further, JP-A No. 2006-81729 discloses a technology that stores beforehand pacemaker information relating to whether or not a cardiac pacemaker is implanted in the heart of a subject of which a radiographic image is to be captured and, on the basis of the pacemaker information, stops radio communication from a radio communication device when a pacemaker is implanted in the heart of the subject.
Moreover, JP-A No. 2004-97638 discloses a technology where an operator that operates an X-ray image capturing system to perform image capturing carries a transmitter that transmits radio waves, a receiver that is capable of detecting the radio waves that the transmitter transmits is installed in an image capturing room that is affected by X-rays, and an X-ray generator is prohibited to emit X-rays while the receiver is receiving the radio waves that the transmitter transmits.
However, in the technology of JP-A No. 2005-176973, whether or not there is a medical device is not known until after a radiographic image has been captured and analyzed, and interference with respect to medical devices resulting from radio electromagnetic waves cannot be sufficiently controlled. In the technology of JP-A No. 2006-81729, although interference with respect to medical devices resulting from radio electromagnetic waves can be controlled when capturing an image of a patient in whose heart a cardiac pacemaker has been implanted, radio communication between the electronic cassette and the console cannot be performed even when the patient is not nearby. Moreover, the technology of JP-A No. 2004-97638 is a technology that simply prohibits irradiation with X-rays, and interference with respect to medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers resulting from radio electromagnetic waves remains a potential.